


The pack leader

by Leliwen (Leli)



Category: My Engineer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Sexual Assault, Boxing, Bullying, Bullying Issues, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Misunderstandings, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Episode 07, Post-Trailer Episode 08, Social Media
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:27:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leli/pseuds/Leliwen
Summary: A girl was trying to fend from a much bigger guy who was trying to grab her. Tang threw himself on the man, barely managing to move him a few centimetres forward. Duen sent Ram a message.“SOS – share position.”
Relationships: Bohn/Duen, Mek/Boss, Ram/King
Comments: 36
Kudos: 163





	1. 1. The match

**Author's Note:**

> Hello  
> I have never written in English before, so I don't have much faith in what will come of it.  
> And, not speaking Thai, I rely exclusively on "My Engineering - the series". And I'm also too lazy to go and check everything I saw. Sooooo...  
> Enjoy the reading  
> ... hopefully

_NOW_

“Let’s box about it.”*

“EH?!”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_ONCE_

It was the beginning of the University year, and Duen had just made friends with Tang, a really nice boy. That evening they were returning late and they were passing by the back of the Engineering’s faculty to get to the place where Duen had parked his motorbike, when they heard a scream. A girl scream. And immediately after a lower one, almost a growl.

Duen e Tang exchanged a glance just before rushing to the scream.

A girl was trying to fend from a much bigger guy who was trying to grab her. Tang threw himself on the man, barely managing to move him a few centimetres forward. Duen sent Ram a message.

“SOS – _share position_.”

Then he threw himself into the fray and tried to pull the girl away.

Tang had just been shaken off by a blow in the stomach. Duen was pushed away by an elbow in the eye.

The latter one looked around just in time to see Ram run towards them and send a knowing look with another boy. Ram’s race ended with a shoulder against the giant, while the other freshman grabbed the girl and handed her to Tang, and then stood between the two groups.

But that additional protection was not necessary as Ram knocked out the giant with three hits.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_NOW_

At the makeshift match there were more people than Ram expected, perhaps due to Bohn’s popularity. Or to the fact that a freshman who challenges a senior in a clandestine match is news that can go around the whole University. And rumours claimed that there was another freshman boy at stake.

Ram wasn’t worried about any of it.

A senior came up to Tee enough to murmur something in his ear.

Before going down to the ring, Tee stopped Bohn: “Be careful. It seems that the little guy knows damn well what he is doing.”

“En.” Bohn didn’t seem to be listening. Frong was also in the crown on the other side of the ring. Bohn couldn’t lose, not in front of that one. “For the sake of DUEN, I have to win this fight.”*

“Bohn, seriously.”

On the other side of the ring, Duen was trying to calm down Ram. Tang was massaging his shoulders, in an attempt to release some of the tension that had built up. He hoped that the two of them would succeed in mitigating, at least a little, that fury hidden in an amused gaze.

“Ram, take it easy… I don’t want him dead, okay?”

Phu stood beside Duen, standing between the boy and his seniors. He didn’t like how it goes: although Bohn was absolutely at fault and his behaviour completely wrong, perhaps such humiliation was too much. He was an excellent street fighter, but Ram was a semi-professional boxer. If Ram had wanted to, he would have made him like a meatballs… and his colleague’s gaze did not bode well.

“Ram, really, don’t hurt him… well, don’t hurt him too much.”

“Duen, someone has to explain to that empty pumpkin head that you are not a property and that his way of acting is not good, in any case.” He shifted his gaze from Bohn to Duen. “Even if I was flirting with you, or that what he sees between us was true, his behaviour is not good.”

“But I wish I could decide, tomorrow, whether or not to have a boyfriend again. Do you promise me?”

Ram looked back at Bohn, but okay, it wasn’t his intention to kill that inflated balloon. He just wanted to deflate it a little bit.

“Let me have some fun.” He replied with a half-smile, getting up to enter the ring.

Ram’s body seemed to have been made to fight. The All-Seeing Eye tattooed over the heart seemed alive, as it moved imperceptibly with each breath. Boss was cheering, trying to install courage in Bohn, but the other three were restless.

“That Nong worries me.” Mek murmured.

“You’re right. Let’s hope he’s not as fast as he is built.” Tee added. “He must be really attached to Duen for getting stuck in such a mess.”

King clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened.

“If he loses he’ll have sided against his seniors for nothing…” Mek was cracking his fingers anxiously.

“If he wins he’ll have beaten an ex-king and his own senior.” Tee ended.

Ram didn’t seem concerned about either chance, but only extremely determined. King knew well the strength behind that look: Ram could silence a stray dog with that look, make it whine until it was forgiven.

The match’s start took King off guard: he was lost in thought and did not notice Bohn’s first lunge. One moment Ram was there, a moment later he was behind Bohn.

Tee looked to Mek with a raised eyebrow. “He’s also fast.”

Mek replied with a grimace of lips. Boss still didn’t seem unconcerned by the seriousness of the situation. King was hypnotized.

Bohn tried another blow, but Ram lowered himself, changing position and bringing a punch to hit his uncovered side. Bohn took a step back. Bohn knew that he should not have to let himself carried away by fury. He couldn’t be superficial in the lunges with an opponent so prepared, but the boy had a half-smile – just an inclination of the right corner of the lips, an imperfection in the static nature of his face – that was wearing his nerves.

“RAM!”

Duen’s cry wasn’t exactly inciting, it seemed more like a warning, but Bohn was too busy trying to hit his opponent to be able to catch the difference. The idea that Duen could cheer for the other… he aimed two blow in rapid succession at the youngest’s chest, but both were intercepted by a defence like an impenetrable shield raising. Just when he thought he saw a crack in the other defence, Ram went on the counterattack: three quick punch. One on the breastbone, one on the face, the last on the same side previously affected. Then Ram jumped back, starting to circle around him.

“Ram, stop playing around!”

This time the scream was from Tang. He stood in front of Duen, covering his sight, while Ting was holding him in her arms.

Ram sighed unhappy, and the gaze that had never left Bohn changed in intensity. Two blows in the face and the senior fell to the ground, his vision blurred, his ears whistling and his head throbbing in waves of nausea never experienced before.

“Stay down and it will pass soon”

The words came distorted, but they seemed like a great advice.

Someone was screaming.

Someone else was counting.

It didn’t seem like the right time to count.

Then an eruption of cheering shouts. And two arms that tried to pull him up.

“RAM! You promised me!”

“He’s alive. If now they stop shaking him he will recover in no time.”

He had lost. He had lost and now he could no longer make claims to Duen. He had lost him…

Duen, who was kneeling a few centimetres from him, and who was crying.

“You wanted to die, right…? Then go and die…!”*

Tang managed to get him up and Duen turned his back on Bohn to hit Ram just above the tattoo on his heart. But then the punch stayed there, trembling, while Duen lowered his head so as not to reveal the tears. Ram remained motionless, merely reaching out one of the gloved hands towards Phu, who quickly took off the first boxing glove. As Phu was starting to untie the second’s laces, Ram’s free fingers ended up in Duen’s hair.

“I’m sorry.” Phu heard him whisper. “Tomorrow, if you want, you can forgive him.”

* lines taken from the trailer of episode 8 can be found here: https://youtu.be/NGVe1Mx7wUU


	2. 2. Welcome to the pack.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Okay, okay, give me a cookie." King copied the younger's movements, stiffening only when the dog's wrinkled tongue touched his fingers to take the biscuit. But then the dog walked away satisfied._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously ep.8 has taken a completely different turn, and the TAG Canon Divergence has just officially become part of this story :D
> 
> Note # 1: I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT DOGS, let alone training them. So, all that is written below is PURE INVENTION NOT BASED ON ANY KIND OF KNOWLEDGE. Aside from the fact that I know animals usually prefer to sniff you first and then let you play with them.
> 
> Note # 2:I said earlier that I’m lazy, but evidently I’m not that lazy. I BELIEVE – see Note # 1 – that Ram’s dogs are Thai bangkaew dogs. Once I found the plausible dog’s breed, my research on the topic ended.
> 
> Note # 3: from what I understand of all Asian culture in general, Thai in particular, physical contact in not a normal thing (and, OK, as Italian you cannot imagine how foreign this thing is to me). I would like to point out that is not normal even for Ram, although in these chapters it may seem otherwise.
> 
> Last thing, the update will NOT be regular: I’m in Lock-Down until May, and after I don’t know when/what my government will want to reopen. In the meantime, I continue to work from home. So the chapters will be published as soon as they are ready.
> 
> Enjoy the reading  
> … hopefully.

_THE DAY BEFORE_

Ram opened the front door and his three bangkaew dogs ran to meet him. King clung into his shoulders as if his life was in mortal danger. Ram let his eyes wander over his animals before emitting a short whistle: the dogs wagged their tails and went back to the lounge.

“Pi-Ram! You’re back! Do you need someth-…” Ruj stopped himself looking at them. King was still clinging to Ram’s shoulders and he didn’t seem willing to break away from that position. “S̄wạs̄dī khrạb, P.”

King came to himself at Ram’s brother’s greeting. He greeted him in turn and Ruj’s face seemed to light up as he looked back at his brother. “Did you bring him in to meet the pack?” King hear no answer, but Ruj must have read something in Ram’s expression. “I’m going, I’m going! Mae will be back for dinner. I hope you both stay!”

King watched Ram take off his shoes, take a pair of slippers from a closet and take another pair for him too.

“Tell me that _the pack_ are those three dogs and you haven’t more.” King hated when his own voice sounds petulant, but his whimpering seemed to greatly amused Ram. Not in a cruel way. There was a sweetness in that immobile face, in the crease of his lips. Almost tenderness.

King felt himself on fire.

He placed his shoes next to Ram’s, an excuse to look away. When King got up Ram grabbed his wrist. Right hand, right wrist. Not the most comfortable way to get carried away.

“Hey, you don’t need to pull me!” Ram’s tendency to grab him and take him for a walk was seriously beginning to amuse him. But the smile froze on his face when he saw the three wolves waiting for orders. No one else in sight and the hold on his wrist showed no sign of lessening.

“Cool boy…” King was trembling again and he was trying to free himself.

Ram pulled King against him, his left arm ended up encircling King’s shoulders, holding him close. King didn’t even seem to notice, as at the entrance when he had grabbed Ram without realizing it.

“Cool boy, please… send them away.”

But Ram made him take a step forward, towards the dogs. King had his eyes fixed on the three bangkaews, his breathing was short but not worryingly.

It wasn’t the first time Ram had met someone who didn’t like or was afraid of dogs. His dogs’ trainers had explained how to behave, and in which case he absolutely should not force his hand. But King wasn’t in that cases. And if he wanted to be part of his life, he had to accept at least his three puppies.

Ram made him do another step before King stiffened and turn his gaze to Ram. Without taking his eyes off of dogs – Ram knew: that would have made King even more worry – he tilted his head to rest his temple on King’s forehead.

Comfort. Safety.

A squeeze on King’s wrist. Ram’s head returns straight.

King felt his heart beat goes wildly: what the heck had just happened? When had he ended up in the youngest arms? It was obviously that Ram wanted to introduce him to his dogs, and that he was showing him that he had absolute control over the situation. But what did that touch mean?

Ram wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Was that what he meant?

He looked back at the dogs. Ram’s right hand slid lower, almost as if willing to grab his palm, before making King take another step towards the three waiting animals.

A snort on his skin and King realized how close he was to the muzzle of the first dog. The animal sniffed his fingers one by one, went down to the palm, where Ram's fingers held him motionless, and then gave Ram a small tap with the head. For an instant, the animal's soft fur touched King's hand. And he was not afraid.

The other two dogs did the same.

King swallowed his discomfort a few times, but didn't move or say anything.

He still had his fingers resting on the third dog's fur when he felt Ram move.

And two soft lips landed on his cheek.

The time of a blink.

What…?

King had done well. He deserved a distraction.

But Ram didn't dare look at him in the face. Maybe he had gone a little too far, but something in King asked him to be hazardous. After all, for the first time he had brought someone home after so little time since they met. It almost happened with Phu after that foiled attack. Ting and Tang had been invited around 40 days later. King had broken every record.

Still holding him in his arms, he placed his right knee on the ground, forcing King to sit on his left leg. Ram slipped his hand from his shoulder to his side, ending up encircling his waist.

King seemed to run out of words. At least until the first of his dogs came up for their cuddle shift.

“Cool boy…” Ram wrapped his arm around King's waist. "I understand that I'm safe but... is that really necessary?"

Ram smiled and nodded.

King sighed, almost resigned. But he didn't resist while Ram guided his hand in the very soft fur of his animals, and he was surprised at himself when his left hand, freely, followed the right in spreading cuddle to the three dogs.

He felt Ram's head resting on his shoulder, a blissful expression on his face.

But beneath him King felt him start to tremble.

"Cool boy, leave me, I weigh too much." His voice was again stable and secure. He still felt a little fear for the three animals, but the urge to escape was gone.

Ram loosened his grip on his wrist and freed his waist, allowing him to get up. As soon as King had moved, the three dogs approached Ram to give him the due cuddle. Ram stroked the heads of each of his dogs, sniffed them, and each of the animals rubbed his neck. A kind of welcome back ritual.

King watched him enraptured. Ram was smiling: he was handsome with that expression on his face.

Ram got up and took the jar of animals biscuits. Then he knelt on the ground again, motioning with his head to King to follow him.

First dog: right hand open, palm facing up; paw on palm; greeting; gave a biscuit to the dog.

Ram's eyes on King.

"Cool boy do I have to? Didn't I say hello to them enough?"

Ram's gaze didn't move. It didn't waver. It didn't change intensity.

"Okay, okay, give me a cookie." King copied the younger's movements, stiffening only when the dog's wrinkled tongue touched his fingers to take the biscuit. But then the bangkaews walked away satisfied.

Ram repeated the greeting with the second dog, who then went to greet King. And to the third.

The latter was retrieving his biscuit from King's fingers, when Ram leaned back to kiss King's cheek. This time he did not stray from King's wide-eyed eyes that were suddenly in his.

Ram smiled satisfied. "You've been good. Welcome to the pack."

King raised his hand to his cheek as Ram got up, giving his dogs one last caress and giving him one last proud gaze.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_NOW_

Bohn had lost. His temper had made him lose the most important thing he had just achieved, and he could not understand how he could have let it happened. His head throbbed and he felt lost and confused as he watched the scene unfolding before his eyes.

But King was no better. If the opponent hadn’t been Bohn, King would have enjoyed every brief moment of that match. But the challenger was Bohn, and Duen was at stake. King had been really sure, until then, that Duen was only Ram's best friend. He wasn't even sure if Bohn's foolish talk about someone buzzing around Duen was related to Ram. But...

Ram was in the centre of the ring, his naked body shining with sweat.

Duen was in his arms, a fist still on his heart and his forehead resting on Ram’s shoulder.

And Ram's fingers were in Duen's hair.


	3. 3. Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't think he's a narrow minded person but... he's a military man. I never talked to him about guys. Except of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note # 1the date between Bohn and Duen goes more or less as in episode 8, but since the canon for this fic is respected until the trailer for episode 8, obviously it will be different ;)
> 
> Note # 2: I have no idea how Thai university system works.
> 
> Enjoy the reading  
> … hopefully.

_NOW_

Ram had stopped to sleep at Duen’s. It was his job to take care of the other when he wasn’t lucid enough to take care of himself. The two briefly greeted Duen's mother and sister before locking themselves up in Duen's rooms: they didn't want to talk about what happened today. Ram took both cell phones and turned them off. They didn't need the chaos of social networks now.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_THE DAY BEFRE_

Duen and Bohn have had their first date. Duen was so nervous that he kept Ram on the phone all morning and ended up getting late.

Bohn hadn't been very happy with the delay or the explanation. Whenever Duen was kind to someone or talked to someone, a grip of terror enveloped his bowels. He would lose him, sooner or later he would lose him.

And between Ram and Frong he didn't know who to fear the most. Because Ram had made no claims – other than to be the most important person in Duen's life – while at least Frong seemed to have pulled back.

 _“Next time don’t use my friend as a tool to break up with your girls.”_ **

It was the first words the Nong had addressed to him. And even now, in the car as they reached the mall, Bohn could not get them out of his head.

And of course, Frong joined Duen the very first moment Bohn left him alone.

And Frong was the enemy. And as such he had to be addressed.

Duen was smiling at him. As if he were something.

“Oh, Bohn, do you dare to leave your boyfriend alone? Someone could steal him from you."

Why did Duen keep smiling at him? As if it was important that Frong was there.

"And who said he's my boyfriend?" the anger that had invaded his chest was something he didn’t understand. With his girlfriends he had never experienced anything like this. Never.

“What is your relationship with him then?”** The same damn words said by Ram.

"It doesn't concern you!"

Bohn grabbed Duen's arm and dragged him back to the parking lot. He only let him go near the car. Duen took the cell phone. He wanted to send Ram a message, he want him to come and get him and then he want to start screaming at his lungs with his friend. He didn't want to cry. He knew that Bohn was a hot head, he knew that he shouldn't take his words seriously, but knowing it, it didn't mitigate their effect.

He hadn't even opened the chat that Bohn turned to him. “You talked to that guy again, didn’t you?”*

“Why do you care? It was you who said I wasn’t your boyfriend.”* It was no good. This first date had been a disaster from every point of view and now he just wanted to scream.

“I said that put of anger because you were talking to him! You’re my boyfriend! You don’t have the right to talk with anyone else.”*

Stop. Say again. Stop.

No. No, no, no no no no no!

"Take me home." Their first date ended here. End of the matter.

Bohn said something to him. He didn't like the tone.

"Take. Me. Home." Not even a day and they had already quarrelled.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_NOW_

Duen sat down on the bed, his head in his hands. Ram took a seat on the floor at his friend's feet. They remained silent for long minutes.

Then Duen lowered his arms.

Ram looked him straight in the eye: “Duen? How do you think your father will react?"

Duen sighed. The question had caught him off guard. "To what, Ram?"

Ram raised an eyebrow. "You. Bohn. "

"You think I have to forgive him?"

Ram tilted his head to the side, bringing his friend back to the conversion they were having. "Duen. Your father."

"Why do I have to worry if Bohn and I don't..." he was becoming hysterical.

"Because it is you." Duen seemed to calm down immediately. Ram knew he had that effect on his friend. That's why he was there. "Because it's your father."

"And you?" Ram didn't even have to speak to bring him back to the topic "I don't know. I don't know what to tell him or how he will react. And yes, this thing scares me." Ram nodded: he was telling him that he understood, that he listened to him. "I don't think he's a narrow minded person but... he's a military man. I never talked to him about guys. Except of you." Duen was no longer watching him, apparently that topic embarrassed him "It was at the beginning of this year... the night they attacked that girl, do you remember? Well, my dad was on leave. When I came home with a black eye he wanted to know what had happened. I told him everything and he asked about you."

Ram put his elbows on his legs, taking his head in his hands. Duen's father was the protector of his family, and Ram felt he had invaded his territory by going to save Duen.

But Duen was his.

"Stop thinking about it. He told me he was happy that I had a friend like you... although now, on second thoughts, I don't know what he meant." Duen suddenly got out of bed and sat down in front of Ram. "Do you think he thought we were together?"

Ram's eyes widened: why was everyone convinced that he and Duen were together?

"Yes, I know, it's something that I've been asking myself lately." Despite the confusion, Ram smiled: it was pleasant to know that, as for Ruj, Duen no longer needed words to understand each other.

"So... do you think your father wouldn’t be upset that you're dating a man?"

"Maybe not…?"

Ram sighed: he wasn't ready to fight Duen's father. And he wasn't ready to see Duen split between the love for his family and that for his boyfriend.

"Ram." Duen turned him away from his thoughts. "Yours?"

"They met P’King yesterday."

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_THE DAY BEFRE_

King's voice was ringing in the large dining room. "I started with Civil Engineering because I always liked having to do with how humans have developed and continue to develop their life's style and above all where to live."

Ram's father had been the first to return home. He had found King and Ram sitting around a low table in front of the television while they were studying. So once at the table he asked his guest if he too studied engineering like Ram.

King, at first hesitant, had become increasingly familiar as he spoke. “After that… well, I have a passion for plants. Ram saw my apartment on campus and... it's a jungle. I think my friends think I’m crazy."

Ram's mother had been a sight to take your breath away. She had returned when Ram and King were still sitting close together, even though each was studying their own subject. One of Ram's dogs was crouched next to his owner, as if he wanted to watch over him.

Ram immediately got up and she hugged him, printing a kiss on his forehead and whispering something that King didn't understand. Ram separated from her, speaking to her in an almost too fast English to understand, but King catch more or less that Ram was telling her King was the new member of the pack. And he spoke English. The woman opened her eyes wide and said her greetings. She had the same gaze’s intensity as Ram, with the addition of two very clear eyes that seemed to dig into your soul.

King was a little in awe of the woman. “Anyway, one of my professors directed me to Soil Bioengineering. To explain it briefly, it’s something that brings together Civil Engineering with the use of alternative materials of a biological nature to solve problems of various kinds. It has a whole range of applications wherever there is a green area, where plants can be used in their primary environment and consequently the greatest difficulty of application is found in those desert or arctic areas."

Ram was filling his plate and King was using all his concentration not to show how delightful it was.

When Ruj came to call them because the table was ready, Ram got up, took him by the wrist, and dragged him along, as usual. But when King realized that Ram's whole family had turned to look at them, he had felt hot spread on his cheeks. But the three had made no comment and King could not understand if Ram had "said" something to them or if that was simply normal behaviour for his Nong.

He pushed those thoughts away, taking a bite that Ram had prepared for him on his plate. "The biggest project we have at the moment is focused precisely on these difficult areas: we’re looking for a way to counter the advance of the deserts and make more and more areas otherwise unusable by man fertile."

By the end, the meeting with Ram's family had gone better than expected. King had talked almost all the time, but Ram's father had intervened asking him interesting questions, showing how carefully he was listening to him, while his mother had no longer switched to English and at the end of the evening had greeted him warmly. Ruj had mostly telepathically bickered with Ram for the duration of the dinner, also taking a good-natured rebuke from his mother.

In short, it had been a beautiful evening.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_NOW_

"They met P’King yesterday."

"WHAT?! And why didn't you tell me?" Ram shrugged. It had been an instinctive decision, made without thinking too much. "Ok, how did they react?"

Ram twisted his mouth for a moment. But then he smiled. “Mum initially wasn't very happy. Dad seemed almost excited... a little bit like Ruj."

"Why wasn't your mom happy?"

"P'King is... disruptive. I think she wanted someone more... calm for me. "

"NO... no, don't tell me that she too... this is ridiculous!"

* trailer 8 ep - https://youtu.be/wdd-Jp_t6eg

** Ep. 02 - https://youtu.be/3JEKPN4DwUQ


	4. 4. Peace sign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You must be really shameless to get to school with the guy who beat up Bohn._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note # 1: SOTUS merging… kind of. So, first of all it has been a long time since I did a re-watch of Sotus, so I could be wrong, but I remember something like that the first year was controlled in normal activities by those of the second year, the third year had the Hazer group, while the fourth has seniors about to graduate. In My Engineer we see the whole of Bohn's group enter a first year classroom, siding exactly like Sotus' Hazer's group. So, remember me not knowing anything about how Thai university life? I assume that the Hazers in the Engineering faculty are a common thing and that Bohn is this year's Head Hazer – and therefore they are students of the 3 Year – and who have not yet done the gear ceremony.
> 
> Note # 2: Bohn is… “prom king”, so… not the Moon… ops!
> 
> Enjoy the reading  
> … hopefully.

Mek was the first one who arrive at their usual table near the engineering department statue. A red rose was resting on the table.

Mek stared at her long enough for Boss to arrive and, like a cannonball, throw himself at him.

"Husband why are you stopped here?"

"There's a rose on the table." It was perhaps the first time that the presence of Boss so close did not cause him the usual tremble: he was too upset by the presence of that flower. The previous night had been hard. Dealing with a broken-hearted Bohn was the hardest thing to do. Also, King had been the only one who hadn't been there and since the evening before none of them could contact him. Mek was worried about his two friends: they didn't needed that red rose too.

Boss let free the other boy, reaching the table. Then he turned to Mek. "But that Nong won the match."

In Bohn's words, he and Duen were no longer together now. According to him, Ram got in the way because Bohn had treated Duen too roughly. And now he had lost all rights to Duen who had become Ram's again.

Yes, Bohn's speech made very little sense. But he was too heartbroken to claim lucidity.

Mek went to sit and Boss followed immediately, leaving the rose in its place. As he sat down he opened FaceBook. Duen had posted a photo with the rose resting on the table. No caption. Below there were already at least a dozen comments, some requesting explanations, others confused. One in particular was particularly obnoxious.

Boss stuck to Mek's side showing him the post and the comment: the girl was one of Bohn's fanclub. “ _You must be really shameless to get to school with the guy who beat up Bohn._ ”

"I don't understand…"

"What do you underst- what's that?" Tee and Bohn were reaching the table. Bohn leaned heavily against his friend and his face was even more purple and blue than it had been the day before.

"That's what we're trying to understand." Mek replied "Duen apparently left her here."

"But it looks like Duen came with that Nong this morning." Boss had also found a photo that proved him: Duen was leaving the rose and, two steps behind him, there was Ram. The caption reads: “ _The freshman who defeated our king Bohn yesterday for the cute Duen does not seem to be interested in the fact that the latter left a red rose on the Hazer's table. Today's young people are incomprehensible!_ ”

Bohn took gently the rose between his fingers. He brought the petals close to his lips, in a light kiss, letting being wrapped in that intoxicating perfume. The spell was broken by Tee who took him by the shoulders and made him sit with the others.

Bohn took a deep breath – as much as the bruise on his side allowed him – and motioned for Boss to hand him the phone. Boss looked at Mek, undecided, but Mek nodded.

Mek knew what the other was feeling: he knew how bad love could be. But if at least in his head the situation between him and Boss was clear, that between Ram, Duen and Boss was a mess.

The video of the challenge between Ram and Bohn had been posted on the engineering faculty's web-page. In the comments, a photo of Duen in Ram's arms and someone who wrote “ _The young doctor soon forgot our king. Today he left the house together with the winner of the match._ ”

"What the hell..." Tee snatched the phone from his hand "They posted the video on the university website!"

Bohn felt his heart tighten: Ram had gone to get Duen at his house or... or had stayed there to sleep. Duen really had to hate him.

In another post, there were the names of the challengers, the stakes, the stakes and the winnings.

"You and the Nong are in trouble!" Boss retorted, taking back his cell phone.

Bohn made an annoyed grimace. He was the one who had provoked Ram, and he was the one who also accepted the challenge. And he should take responsibility: even if he felt bile in his mouth at the thought. Ram had won everything. And now his position as Head Hazer was also at risk.

"Bohn." King had just arrived. He had a funeral face. "The department’s manager wants to talk to you."

Laboriously Bohn got up from the table, Tee proposed to accompany him but he refused. He said goodbye to the others and headed for the presidency rooms.

King was about to leave when Mek stood before him. "What happened to you?"

King gave a half-smile. "I didn't sleep tonight."

Boss came up to him and so did Tee. "You weren't at Bohn's tonight, so why didn't you sleep?"

Mek glanced at Tee, who slightly shook his head. No, he had no idea what was going on with their friend.

"Too many uncoordinated thoughts." King tried to outdo his friends but they barred his way again.

"Why weren't you with us?" Boss repeated, hoping to finally get an answer.

But the other simply replied "It's complicated."

Tee looked at his three friends, then placed a hand on King's shoulder. "Is it because of N’Ram?"

Boss was about to say something, probably out of place, but Mek immediately closed his mouth. King had wide eyes and was trembling slightly. But finally he looked Tee in the eye, and nodded.

Ram was already in front of the department manager's study. When he saw Bohn he tilted his head to one side and then greeted the senior with a silent wai.

The gesture shocked Bohn. There was no one to impress with their good manners, it was just the two of them. But he could not elaborate on the matter because the secretary made them sit down.

"Khunchay*, I suppose you know why you're here." Ram blinked as Bohn nodded. "I want to understand exactly the meaning of this video and some statements that have been brought to my attention and that are reported below some posts."

The first seconds of the video that resumed the match between Ram and Bohn started from the manager's pc. Ram knew absolutely nothing about it: only once he arrived at the university he had turned on his cell phone and, shortly thereafter, he had found the email with the convocation in the manager's office. Out of the corner of his eye he observed Bohn's almost resigned reaction.

The manager looked at the two students: the signs of the fight were evident on the oldest face, so the video was not an artefact.

He put his hands together on the desk in front of him. "With order: why that boxing match?" he asked both. He wasn't too much surprise that the first to speak was the senior.

"It's my fault: I behaved in a deplorable way."

Ram's eyes widened. It was absolutely not what he expected. Given Bohn's general reputation, he was ready to be accused of causing the fight... instead Bohn was trying to take full responsibility for what happened.

However for the manager, such an inconsistent answer wasn't enough. "Nice words but they don't answer my question, Khun Bohn."

The lower lip ended for a moment between his teeth, as if to prevent words from overcoming that obstacle. He spoke only after he took a very deep breath. "N’Ram got in the way and I challenged him to prove me wrong."

The manager turned openly towards the freshman, noticing at that moment just how he was looking at his senior in a surprised way. "Punches, Khun Ram?" churches.

"It was on the subject of the conversation, Khunchay." Ram replied with a shrug, as if it were completely normal.

The manager didn't seem of the same idea, but after a glance he moved on to the next question. "Can I ask what Khun Duen from medical school has to do with this challenge?"

Ram was about to answer, but Bohn preceded him. "My disrespect was towards N’Duen, Khunchay."

Ram looked at his senior with eyes so deep that they seemed to want to dig into your soul. Bohn could not decipher that look: he had not succeeded during the meeting, never understanding where Ram wanted to attack him, he had not succeeded in the pub, when Ram had obstinately taken care of his drunk friend, he certainly did not understand it now.

The manager raised both eyebrows. "And what would give you the right to use him as the stakes of a boxing match?"

This time Ram was the first to answer. "It wasn't Duen who was at stake but his relationship with P'Bohn, Khunchay."

"It is so, Khunchay." Bohn hastened to reiterate. "I... implied that N'Duen was my property. N’Ram made it clear that he wasn't."

Ram was momentarily speechless, watching Bohn with that indecipherable look. The manager, however, wasn't so generous. “Khun Bohn, I would have expected something better from you. In light of what has happened, I am not sure that we shouldn't review your position inside the Hazer."

Ram leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, back and head straight.

For a moment it seemed to Bohn that the taciturn boy who beat like a blacksmith had become another person, a much more confident man, at ease even in such a situation without having to cloak himself with the arrogant air that Bohn used. "Kuhnchay, if I can afford it: P'Bohn is a great Head Hazer." Ram's words flowed like a swollen river, catching both Bohn and the manager completely off guard. "The match resolved the jealousy problem, and now P'Bohn can start again to carry out his commitments in the best way. At this time of year, we freshmen do not need to see our reference figure change due to a misunderstanding that has already been resolved."

The tone was so definitive that even the manager seemed to agree with him.

* I hope that google translate has translated SIR in the best way... if someone has a better translation, I am all ears XD


	5. 5. Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"This whole situation is just a huge misunderstanding."  
>  "Yep. But how do you explain Ram to others? "  
> “So that they understand? Impossible."  
> _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ciao! New chapter, in which, in a completely marginal way, we talk about **cyber-bullying** , ergo new TAG! Ok, I don't think I develop that issue for more than a couple of chapters, and when I started this story I didn't think of touching it at all. So if someone feels like abandoning for the presence of such a sensitive topic, **I apologize** that at the beginning I haven't thought about the possibility that this theme could present itself within the story.
> 
> Thank you so much for support my work with the kudos you are leaving. I'm glad to know that you are enjoying this little thing.
> 
> Enjoy the reading  
> ... hopefully

Bohn walked slowly, yet Ram didn't seem to want to speed up his pace. He stopped to catch his breath: his swollen side had started to hurt again and he needed to take a few breaths before starting to walk again. Ram stopped in turn. He didn't turn to look at him. He offered no help. Instead he stayed there, waiting for Bohn to start walking again.

If it had been anyone else, Bohn would have said he was enjoying it. But Ram didn't seem interested.

With one last deep breath he let go his side and started walking again. They had almost reached the elevator when Ram broke the silence.

"You should thank him."

Bohn was stunned for a moment. "What?"

What was he talking about? For the first time since they leave the manager's office, Ram turned to look at him. The Nong looked at each of his bruises, seemed to count his breaths, then Ram's eyes look for and found his bag, before going back to the senior's.

"The Rose. You should thank him. "

Bohn barely had time to understand what the other was saying that Ram bowed in a small wai, before hurrying down the corridor, towards the stairs that would lead him to his next lesson.

The cafeteria was as crowded as every day. Tang had just arrived with food for everyone but Duen didn't have much appetite. Ram and Phu were not there and they had neither seen them nor heard for all day. Ting was worried: she was scrolling through various pages of various social networks to understand the extent of the repercussions of the boxing match.

"I heard that both Ai’Ram and P’Bohn were summoned by the faculty manager." Tang reported, sitting at the table with his friends. "But nobody knows how the meeting went."

"There is nothing on the Engineering web site." A couple of seconds later he added "Not even on P'Bohn's pages. Ram's... I don't even control." Ting glanced at Duen who didn't seem interested in the conversation. "Have you read the comments under his post?"

“Those, and all the treads that have been open since yesterday evening to this morning. I practically didn't sleep."

"This whole situation is just a huge misunderstanding."

"Yep. But how do you explain Ram to others? "

“So that they understand? Impossible."

The trill of an incoming message shook Duen from his catatonia and stopped the chatter of the other two. When he saw the message Duen opened his eyes as wideas possible.

"Who is it?" Tang asked.

"What he says?" Ting Ting asked.

Duen was out of breath. "Bohn. Apologizes. Says thank you." He turned the cell phone to his two friends.

" _I apologize to you. I let fear, anger, jealousy take over and I acted like a bully. It’s the thought of losing you that cuts my breath and twists my bowels. Yet today you gave me another red rose, and my stupid heart returns to hope that it's not all over. Thanks for letting me breathe one more day._ "

Ting's face lit up as if it were Christmas. "Oh, P'Bohn! Perfect example of a romantic gentleman! Perfection of this land! Wonder of…" She had to stop: Tang elbow had hit her waist. "Too much?"

Ting and Tang started laughing and, after a moment, Duen did the same.

The air around them lightened sufficiently to allow Duen to swallow a couple of mouthfuls.

"Ram agrees I have to decide for myself whether or when to forgive Bohn." He reported to his two friends. "Ram doesn't like that Bohn doesn't trust me to the point that he doesn't want to allow me to talk to other people, but he thinks I have to decide for myself."

Ting sighed, as if he had to find the strength to admit that... "Ai’Ram is right."

Tang turned his cell phone towards Duen. "But you have to try to decide quickly, P'Bohn's funclub is on a war footing." The hashtag #vengeBohn had gone viral within the university in a matter of hours. And some posts visible on Tang's smartphone were certainly not reassuring.

Duen wrinkled his nose. "Ram can defend himself." He tried to convince himself, but Tang shook his head, taking back the phone.

"From a physical attack? Definitely. From a media outburst? I don't believe he would be interest in it. From a media outburst that becomes psychological and physical? I don't think he has the tools to defend himself. "

Now Ting's expression was really worried. "Ok. What are we doing?"

Tang had no idea so he and Ting turned to Duen: after all Duen was the only one who had known Ram for a long time. But Duen also seemed to run out of ideas.

"For now we keep social media under control, and, if possible, we try to contain the damage."

“Stop, stop STOP!”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_A FEW MINUTES BEFORE_

Bohn had joined his friends at the Engineering cafeteria, but first he had gone to the infirmary to get another dose of painkillers. Someone had tried to stop him on the way, but Bohn had all his head elsewhere. He sat down next to Mek and got his help with the apology message. Bohn had composed the message, had reread it. Then he moved a couple of sentences. He had reread it. Then he passed it on to Mek who read it. And who smiled in that strange way that usually reserved only to Boss before returning the phone nodding. Bohn had reread the message once more. Mek had to force him to stop being a coward and send him.

Message sent.

Message read.

No reply.

"He will answer to you." Mek soothed him. He looked at his friends: this really wasn't the time to be ironic about the issue, even if the desire to make fun of that expression afflicted like a lost puppy was stuck between the tongue and the teeth.

"What did the manager say?"

Bohn answered Boss something indistinct. All four of his friends leaned towards him.

Bohn repeated, slightly louder and the four repeated the theatre.

"Ramsomehowsolvedtheproblem." The four blinked their eyes in unison.

"I beg you pardon?" King seemed to be out of breath.

"The freshman told the manager that everything is resolved and that it isn't fair to them to change Head Hazer at this point of the year."

Tee turned his eyes to King as the other three looked at Bohn with theirs wide open.

"Are you telling me that the Nong first hit you and then save your ass?" Bohn shrugged in response to Boss.

"Do you think he wants to paint himself as a hero in the eyes of N'Duen?" Mek had hit a point that Bohn hadn't thought of, but Ram didn't seem like the type.

"Ai'King, are you feeling well?" At Tee's words, Bohn looked up at his friend. King was pale, his gaze was fixed and his lips parted slightly, but he did not seem to breathe.

Bohn looked at Mek and Boss, evidently there was something that he didn't know. Mek was biting his lip, as if wanting to take back the words he had just said, while Boss answered the unspoken question: "There was something between King and N’Ram."

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_NOW_

Bohn had his hands on King's shoulders, his eyes fixed on his friend's ones. The sudden movement had somehow shaken King out of his catalepsy. "Are you telling me that Ram seduced and abandoned you?!"

King blinked repeatedly, as if he didn't really understand the question.

Had Ram seduced him? Intrigued, perhaps, but seduced... He looked back at Bohn but the words didn't want to come out. It seemed that his brain had momentarily disconnected and couldn't find a simple way to explain himself. It was Mek who placed a hand on Bohn's shoulder and summarized that story.

"Apparently N’Ram and Ai’King are dating." King tried to object, but the words died in his throat. Yes, it could be said so, more or less. "N’Ram is one who says very few words but he's almost silent with strangers and Ai'King has decided to want him to speak. According to Tee, he's his new impossible project, or something like that." And for the second time in few hours King found himself glaring at Tee for undervalued his efforts like that. Meanwhile Mek was shaking his head, slightly confused. "And it seems that before the boxing match N’Ram brought him to know his dogs. And from here onwards what Ai'King told us doesn't make much sense, but somehow he'is in a pack."

King saw clearly the confusion tinged with a halo of concern descending on Bohn's swollen face. "Is Ram a gang member?!"

The four friends shook their heads and Mek reiterated: "A pack, not a gang."

Bohn looked at King with an up eyebrow. He seemed to temporarily dismiss the question, as if it were useless to try to understand the differences now, and he focused on the other obviously crucial point "But... if he is hitting on you, why is he meddling between me and Duen?"

He hadn't even finished the sentence: Mek, Boss and Tee glared at him and Boss even beat him with a light punch on the shoulder.

King took a breath. "I don't know if he's hitting on me... when I am with him it seems that all his silences have a precise meaning, that there is no way for me to misunderstand. But then... but then he doesn't _tell_ me anything. And I was the one who went to look for him, over and over again. But... but if he didn't care about me he wouldn't have brought me to know his whole family, would he?"

“EEEEH?!”


	6. 6. Parole parole parole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Tang got up abruptly, starting to recover his belongings. "Ram doesn't answer the phone."_  
>  Ting unrolled her legs, returning seated. "And we haven't seen him since early this morning... and obviously his social networks are quieter than he is!" With one hand she was scrolling through the notifications, with the other she was taking her own things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note # 1: I really don't think to insert Ram's father's betrayal with Ram's best friend… I don't even think to introduce that best friend. First because episode 11 made me hate her almost more than Ram's father himself; second because until episode 7 I don't think she was ever named, so I can ignore her existence and live happily.  
> Note # 2: The fact that also Boss was in love/infatuated with Mek was something I had suspected from that famous medical patch. So ok, let's start with this assumption and see how their relationship will develop. I have to say that I LOVE how the Mek/Boss have evolved so far! If it were for me I wouldn't change a comma, but it fits badly with the rest of my story, so... you take it as it comes ;)  
> Note # 3: Usually I try to keep all the chapters roughly of the same length. This one got a little out of hand, but I hope you won't mind too much ;)  
> Note # 4: I’m not too much confident in my grammar for this chapter. I’m sorry. 
> 
> Enjoy the reading  
> ... hopefully

Mek and Boss were walking towards their respective dormitories. The day had been long, unproductive and was ending with two of their friends still heartbroken.

Boss eyed Mek a few times. As always, the boy seemed absorbed in some complicated thought. He had two different Mek-states: gloomy and thoughtful or funny and easygoing. But the latter always came out too rarely, if Boss had something to say about it.

Looking back at the road in front of them Boss asked: "Do you think King is in love with that boy?"

Boss was more worried about King than Bohn. The Head Hazer had hard skin and was more stubborn than a mule. King, on the other hand, was a kind soul: he was no less stubborn than Bohn but in a different way, as if you should be careful not to step on the flowers beside him.

Mek looked up to the sky, made a funny expression with his mouth, and then answered a small "Maybe."

"From his reaction it seems difficult to me that could be a 'maybe'." He whimpered, saddened that the other didn't think like him.

Mek snorted. Boss could not say if he was annoyed or just a little exasperated. "So why do you ask me?"

But a huge smile spread over Boss's face. It was always nice to be able to hang onto Mek's arm and play his Silly Wife.

"I want to know what you think, hubby! It seems obvious to me!" per scene he also began to jump, his cheek well attached to Mek's shoulder.

But this time he wasn't shaken off as usual. In fact, Mek seemed to worry even more. "Feelings are a complicated thing. It can be easy to be wrong." He said, in such a low voice that Boss was able to hear him only because he was so close to him. "You can misunderstand an attachment or tenderness towards someone out of love, or what you think as love is really just friendship." Boss seemed to see a twinkle in Mek's eyes, like a distant echo of a hidden pain. "Or you can find yourself entangled for years in a type of relationship and be afraid of hurting yourself even more in an attempt to have more." He sighed so deeply that it almost seemed like he was trying to catch his breath. "In the case of King... he likes many strange things, you saw his home, didn't you? And N’Ram is certainly a nice puzzle, so yes. Right now I'm sure that he's an extremely important person in his life and that thinking he isn't as important can be the cause of... pain. But I don't know if it's love." Mek's gaze became distant, melancholy. "I don't even know if King understood how he feel himself."

Boss moved slightly away, leaving his hands still entwined around Mek's arm, but finding himself carefully looking at his profile.

"Oh."

Mek shook himself, smiled, and turned to Boss, with a half-smile. "Just oh?"

"Just oh." Boss's heart beat wildly. Like when he heard him play his part for the short film they shot together. "I never thought... I know that feelings are complicated, at the moment I don't know what I'm feeling exactly." He stopped abruptly: it was the closest thing to an admission that came from his lips. He clung to Mek's arm, a slightly sulky expression on his face. A mild attempt to divert attention. "And it's hard to hear you talk so much... so I'm still trying to decipher everything you said."

Mek shook his head, and started walking again, taking Boss with him. "There is not much to take in. The feelings are hardly to get. It would probably be easier if we could understand and explain them."

It was supposed to be a study group in the library. They got very engaged, pulling out all the books and starting to compare the notes. Then Ting had pulled out his cell phone. And Duen thought he still had to answer Bohn and he unlocked his own. Finally Tang had stopped ignoring the notifications that kept vibrating his smartphone. And he had immediately darkened. "We have to ask P'Bohn to intervene."

"No." Duen turned his screen off, pouting. He wasn't ready to face Bohn yet: he felt his heart in his throat and the sweat freeze on his arms every time he thought about what to do with his maybe-boyfriend.

Ting knelt on the chair, reaching over the table towards his friend. "Duen, these messages get more and more violent and... and in his faculty, Ram has only Phu on his side."

"There are the guys in the study group." Tang interrupted her, continuing to scroll through the notifications. "He's not really alone."

"Tang, this is the first day." She replied planting her cell phone in his face pointing her finger at the stratospheric number of notifications. “Only on the first day. If we don't do something now tomorrow will already be late." She said, speaking again to Duen.

Duen drummed his fingers on the back of his smartphone. “Are you sure you're not too hasty? Maybe tomorrow it will have already deflated itself."

Tang had brought the cell phone to his ear and seemed particularly agitated.

In the meantime, Ting seemed to be pouting looking at a series of photos depicting P'Bohn. "I doubt it will deflate before P'Bohn's face." Violently pushing his fingers on the flat screen of his cell phone,

Tang got up abruptly, starting to recover his belongings. "Ram doesn't answer the phone."

Ting unrolled her legs, returning seated. "And we haven't seen him since early this morning... and obviously his social networks are quieter than he is!" With one hand she was scrolling through the notifications, with the other she was taking her own things.

Duen imitated his friends. "The good thing is that all his profiles are practically private and he doesn't accept friend requests from people he doesn't know." He tried to find a positive implication for Ram's typical hermeticism.

"Yes, but someone started tagging him everywhere..." Tang said heading towards the exit of the library.

Ting clung to his arm, turning his cell phone to better see "Who?"

"I don't know..." Tang replied, retrieving his smartphone: the account name said absolutely nothing to him. "I think he's a senior of him?" He hypothesized after browsing some photos.

Duen lowered his cell phone. "Ram still doesn't answer." He said, lengthening his pace.

Tang put the cell phone away, leading Ting so she can keep checking social media aabout where Ram might be. "Maybe he only has loud music in his ears." He speculated, not very convinced.

Ting bit her lips as they started down the stairs. "What if something happens to him?"

Tang glanced at the other boy in alarm. "Duen, call P’Bohn. It's an order."

"NO, STOP!" Ting stopped in the middle of a ramp, threatening to fly down the stairs dragged by Tang. "It's all right, it's with Phu and the others." She showed them a selfie of one of Ram's classmates. ' _The bad boys of engineering have finished studying_ '. Phu looked into the camera, with an annoyed expression. Ram had his head resting on a fist, intent on deciphering the notes while a third boy tried to close the book in their midst. The fourth, the one who was holding the cell phone, had stuck out his tongue like Einstein... but without as much charisma.

Phu had dragged Ram and the other two to the usual pub. They had already had the first round of shots drink and were starting the second, when a couple of fellows broke away from their group at the back of the club and approached them. The boy planted both hands on their table. The girl behind him seemed on a war footing. Ram didn't seem to be interested in the two despite the boy was practically towering over him. Phu looked up at them, not knowing who they were or what they were doing at their table. But then the girl began to throw up a series of meaningless words on Ram.

Oh yeah. The issue of the challenge with P'Bohn and the resulting media shitstorm.

So many words to which, in response, Ram had simply turned his head towards the girl: Phu could not see the expression but could easily imagine the neutral look and a slightly annoyed eyebrow. It was at that point that the youngster struck a blow.

Before hitting Ram's face though, he hit the glass he was about to bring to his lips.

Somehow that guy, or the glass, or a combination of punch and glass had managed to break Ram's lip.

Ram ran his hand over his lips and looked, almost astonished, at the blood that had settled on it.

At that point their table, and those nearby, were in absolute silence.

Ram got up, the chair rubbed on the floor so hard that the people jumped.

Phu had a half reflex to stop Ram, but Ram seemed to ignore the attack. With one foot he hooked a free chair and brought it near their table while. With a firm hand on the shoulder of his attacker, he convinced him to sit in his seat. Then he brought the chair closer to the girl, gesturing for her to sit down.

Phu and the other two Engineering freshmen were speechless. Ram went around the table, retrieving another empty chair and sat at the head of the table, between Phu and the other faculty colleagues.

To the waiter who was approaching to clean the glass shards on the ground, Ram apologized for what happened and asked him for another bottle and three more glasses.

Then, to the two new arrivals: "Ask."

The two looked hesitantly, caught off guard. Ram took a napkin, wet it with tequila from Phu's glass and brought it to his lip, trying to disinfect the wound.

The girl took courage, placing a hand behind her partner's back. "Why did you beat P'Bohn?! He's your senior!" Then she seemed to return to seek refuge behind the other.

Ram dabbed his lip a few more times, tense and with his eyes closed to suppress the pain. "It was a challenge." He pointed out, looking straight in her eye. "I threw it, he picked it up. I didn't beaten him."

Phu noticed that one of their companions was filming. Probably a direct on some social. Ram did not seem interested, the two perhaps hadn't noticed. Phu sent a quick message to Duen, explaining the situation.

"Why did you challenge him?" The girl's voice roused him from his thoughts. "What on earth could he have done to you?!"

At that moment the waiter brought the new glasses. He glanced at Ram, who just shook his head. At that point he took an ice-cold bottle and poured the transparent liquid into the three glasses.

Ram put down the blood-soaked napkin before replying: "He treated a friend of mine as if he were a thing and not a person."

"LIAR!" She screamed standing up.

Ram looked at Phu. An angry girl was something Ram couldn't face alone: it was really evident. "No, he don't lie." He found himself intervening, knowing full well that he was about to speak ill of P'Bohn live and that the Senior would surely find a way to make him pay for it. "Duen is also my friend and P’Bohn didn't behave well with him. Ram was the only one of us who had the courage to face a senior face to face."

"You throw only slanders!" This time it was the boy who had spoken. Phu had thought, for a moment, that he was only there as brute force. He didn't believe P'Bohn to have this type of boy in his fan club.

"And you're only writing a flood of rubbish nonsense!" Retorted their other companion. Neither he nor the makeshift cameraman were really friends with Ram, but both were definitely sided with them.

"How can they be nonsense when everyone knows them!" The girl was waving, as if to include everyone present in the discussion and, indeed, some of the people who were with them before were approaching the table. “Everyone says the same thing! There is no one who raised a finger to say otherwise!"

Phu was fed up. "Maybe because you haven't looked around well enough?" He yelled at her, rising in turn.

"Or because there isn't anyone who wants to risk anything for him?!" The boy retorted, meddling between his friend and Phu.

"It's you who are flooding the social media with slanders against Ram!" Phu noticed that the other comrades had also got up. The only one to remain seated was Ram, but Phu did not have the courage to turn to look at how his friend was absorbing what those two were vomiting against him. "He did nothing but take sides with his friend! You hide behind a keyboard!"

"I don't think we're hiding!" the boy took a half step forward. Phu and his friends didn't take it well. They were all tense and ready to hit.

"He deserves all our contempt for what he has done!" The girl's high-pitched voice couldn't distract them. Obviously none of them would have beaten a girl, but they would not have allowed her to continue talking like this. "P'Bohn's face is still swollen! And it's only because of..."

"THATS ENOUGH!"


	7. 7. First steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Maybe you should go to the hospital." He said, his eyes wandering between Ram and an unspecified point in the lower right. "Even if it doesn't bleed anymore, maybe we should make sure there is no risk of infection."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought there wouldn't be notes in this chapter... but...
> 
> Note # 1: I find it EXTREMELY complicated to make Ram "speak" without using words in a language that is not mine. So, sorry in advanced.  
> Note # 2: Don't take my medical directions literally. I know about medicine a little bit more than I know about dogs. So if you hurt yourself, call for a doctor, okay?  
> Note # 3: Maybe I should have check it earlier, but: I don’t remember if in English there is a rule for the plurals of words in a foreign languages, so I will continue NOT to conjugate the Thai words in the text.

P’Bohn was leaning against Duen. Behind them there were P'Tee, Ting and Tang. P’King, P’Mek and P’Boss closed the group.

Phu chanced to look at Ram: he had his eyes fixed on the rear of the mixed group just arrived, his brows slightly frowning. The cut on his lip hadn't stopped bleeding. He seemed almost tired.

P'Bohn was showing his cell phone with the streaming live video open. "What is this?"

Phu's friend had just lowered the smartphone that was currently filming Duen and P’Bhon. "Phi... I was just trying to prevent someone from misrepresenting..."

P'Bohn let go of Duen and leaned on the table with one hand. "It's not what I want to know!" he turned to the group who had approached to support the two unknown ones. “Why is a group of students from other faculties annoying my Nong with ridiculous accusations? And you keep shooting!" the cell phone immediately returned to position wandering, as if in a tennis match, from one side of the table to the other.

The girl stepped away from the table. She wished to move towards P'Bohn but a glance from the latter made her stop. Her friends had reached her, all of them with very sulky expressions. "But... P'Bohn-Krup..." she pointed an accusatory index finger towards Ram who, in response, raised both eyebrows with a vaguely ridiculous air. “This guy beat you in front of everyone! And he dared to take the rose boy away from you! And…"

At this, Ram's eyes landed on Duen, still very close to P’Bhon and yes, this time the expression on his face was obviously sarcastic. Duen rolled his eyes as Ting and Tang crossed their arms over their chests, puffing.

“And it's just a bunch of nonsense! Duen is here, next to me and yesterday was a Box Match, not a bar fight! So now apologize and leave!"

"But... but he was the stake! Why now…?"

"Because you didn't understand anything! What N’Ram said is true: I didn't behaved well with Duen. And Duen is lucky enough to have a friend come forward to protect him even when it doesn't suit him. Next time before starting a hate campaign you should go and ask those directly concerned what really happened! And now, get out of here!"

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_A FEW MINUTES BEFORE_

"So where do we want to go to drown our... or better yet your sorrows?" Tee was always ready to go and drink. He had dragged King along, not accepting no for an answer, and they had just joined Bohn, Mek and Boss.

“Are you sure it's appropriate to go for a drink? Alcohol and medicine don't get together very well." King pointed out, eyeing Bohn in an attempt to find an excuse to go home.

Tee knew that he didn't want to be in company but, as expected, Bohn rolled his eyes, annoyed. He wanted to get drunk, and he wasn't going to be stuck with stupid painkillers. "No problem!" he grunted, annoyed.

Boss sided with King and pulled out his cell phone. “Bohn, what did the doctors prescribe you? I'll check right now if you can drink on them." as soon as he unlocked the phone, a notification caught his attention. He clicked on it before he could think otherwise.

One of his Nong had started a live stream, and it didn't seem like a funny thing.

"Hey, hey, look here!" Boss turned up the volume and placed the phone in front of him so that it was visible to everyone.

There were N’Ram, N’Phu and two seniors who weren't from Engineering in the frame. And the girl had a particularly high-pitched voice.

\- _"Why did you challenge him? What on earth could he have done to you?!"_

"Bohn, isn't she the vice-president of your fan club?" Mek asked, watching that. "Why she's with ours Nong?"

"N’Ram is wounded!" Boss pointed to the blood-soaked napkin that the boy held in his hand. He looked up and saw King become extremely pale. Meanwhile, N’Ram's calm voice in the video was responding to the girl.

_\- "He treated a friend of mine as if he were a thing and not a person."_

_\- "LIAR!" She screamed standing up._

Bohn looked at his friends. "I'd say it's time to set in."

Tee nodded. "I know where they are. I'm not going to let them touch our Nong."

Mek raised an eyebrow, annoyed. "If you had been so worried you would have think about it _before_ you started tagging N’Ram around."

Both King and Bohn looked at Mek and then sent two murderous looks to Tee. Who took a step back, raising his hands: "I hoped that would encourage him to defend himself!"

King shook his head and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him towards the pub. Tee was caught off guard and almost tripped over his own steps. It wasn't like King to grab people like that. Nor look at it with such disapproval. "You just put him, alone, into the eye of an hurricane."

"If he had participated in activities like the other Nong, he wouldn't be alone."

The cry that came out of King's lips came straight from his chest, rumbled in the sternum, gurgling slightly in his throat. If he weren't completely out of character, Tee would have sworn that King had just snarled.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_NOW_

Duen made P'Bohn sit in a chair before running towards Ram.

"Why the hell you didn't defend yourself?!" with one hand he pulled up Ram's face while with the other he removed the napkin he was using to dab himself "And how could you use a paper napkin?!" He threw the napkin on the table and pulled his own tissue from his pocket. "There's a risk that a fragment will remain in the wound and you will get an infection!" Holding the tissue under his chin, he slid some alcohol – the one that Ram was trying to drink – onto the wound to remove the possible fragments. "I thought that in the gym they had teaches you how to heal your own wounds!" Ram closed his eyes for a moment, retracting in pain, but reopened them soon after, pointing them to a point beyond Duen's shoulders. "And stop moving, I'm trying to clean this cut!"

So Ram fixed his eyes on Duen's. Stop, still. Immediately Duen fell silent. Ram took the glass of Duen's hands, drank the contents and then took ownership of the tissue.

"Thanks." He said.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_A FEW MINUTES BEFORE_

They had just arrived at the pub when Duen heard a familiar voice behind him. He stopped abruptly, almost getting ran over by the other two.

Rubbing his nose, Ting turned in the direction where Duen was looking and she saw them: the whole group of seniors was arriving at the pub, pulled by a really furious P'King. Immediately behind him P'Bohn was no better.

“Ai’King, I said I will take care of it. It's my fan club that started all this mess, I'll take care of it."

"Bohn..." the Senior's name escaped Duen's lips as if it was a prayer.

They all stopped stunned, then Bohn took a breath, a little deeper than the others, and his face twisted into a grimace of pain. Duen was beside him in an instant, his arm behind Bohn's back, as if he wanted to embrace him.

"If you came for Ram, we better hurry up!" Tang collected them from the idyll.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_NOW_

Ram stood up, put his hands together to greet the new ones appropriately. Then he looked at P’Bohn and strained his head a little. "Thanks for stepping in."

P’Bohn made a vague gesture with his hand, something halfway between 'don't think about it' and 'I didn't do it for you'. They tried to take over the near table, to found a sit for all but Ram stay up, his eyes were fixed on P’King. The senior looked weird. Ram saw him take a couple of steps forward, as if wanting to reach him, before stopping. P’King probably wanted to talk to him privately. No problem, but it was up to King to find an excuse to leave together. P’King bit the corner of his lower lip.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital." He said, his eyes wandering between Ram and an unspecified point in the lower right. "Even if it doesn't bleed anymore, maybe we should make sure there is no risk of infection."

Ram nodded. He left some money on the table, enough to pay his share and that of the two wranglers, he put the backpack on one shoulder and greeted, very briefly, the others who had sat down. When he passed P’King he took one of his wrists to carry him along.

"Hey!" Tee and Mek said in chorus, watching the two leave. Boss had a slightly open mouth and Bohn a frown. But King didn't look at them: he hurried towards Ram, to be close to him and not behind him, but none of them seem interested in starting a conversation.

"Why did N’Ram kidnap Ai'King?" Tee asked the Nong friends.

"Ai’Ram didn't kidnap P'King!" Duen pouted. Although Tee wasn't attracted to boys, he could see how Duen was somehow cute. "If anything, P'King suggested that he accompany Ai’Ram to the hospital, and Ai’Ram accepted. So take it out on P'King." The only girl in the group nodded conspicuously and the boys in the study group also seemed to agree with this reading.

Tee looked for his friends, but saw no greater understanding. "And when should all this happen?"

"A moment ago?!" Tang snapped, evidently tired and exhausted from the whole situation. "Ai’Ram was looking at P'King, so it was clear that they were talking about something. P'King said Ai’Ram needed a visit to the hospital and that they could go together. Ai’Ram took his own things and accepted P’King's offer. You have seen it too!"

N'Phu shook his head, starting to chuckle, then looked at Ting with a smile from ear to ear. "I think it's going to beat you in the coding 'Ram silences - common language'."

Ting glared at her two friends. "I'm just tired! I haven't slept in almost 48 hours, and in any case I would have explained it better!"

Tee watched Duen pull out his cell phone and update a document with a sort of ranking pole that actually saw Ting in first place. Ting, Tang and N’Phu were marked in red, all other names in black.

"Oh yes? And how?" N’Phu teased her. "By chance did you also understand what Ram and P'King were said to each other?"

Ting slumped into his seat, pouting. “I'm not Duen, who has known him for a lifetime! I'm not that good! And think about yourself: you are the one who spends the most time with him and who understands him more slowly than the two of us."

Mek leaned over to the three Engineering freshmen. "Could you explain what this... game is?"

“Oh, nothing special Phi. But if you want to be friend with Ram you have to understand his silences more than his words." He said showing him his cell phone with the same file as Duen. There were a dozen names on that file. "And if you want to become part of the pack you must also know how to speak to him through the same silences." He added making a sign towards the four freshmen who wore a very satisfied air. "It amazes me that P'King knows how to do it: it seems to me that he has started giving private lessons to Ai’Ram only recently."

Duen smiled, with the expression of a cat who ate the canary. "Evidently P'King is more attentive and motivated than you two."

Mek frowned. "But he isn't in the rankings."

Duen's smile widened. "Obviously he's not in the ranking."


	8. 8. I can trust you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Ram let his wrist go, almost as if he burned himself. King felt his arm go cold. Ram nodded slightly and looked straight ahead, away from King._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR THE WAIT
> 
> My Engineer season 1 is over(and it was awesome!!!)... and now, waiting for season 2, let's move on with this little thing.  
> Thanks for being here. Thanks if you want to continue following me to the end.
> 
> Enjoy the reading  
> ... hopefully

“KAMPAI!”

Mek looked fondly at Boss and N’Ting who were making yet another silly toast. They seemed to be the only two with still some semblance of energy in their bodies. N’Duen was asleep, with his head on the table and Bohn's arm around his shoulders; Tee was sipping his cocktail idly with his gaze lost in space; N’Tang's head rocked heavily over the back of the chair, his lips slightly open and his breathing light.

N’Phu seemed the only one still lucid enough.

"Ai'Ting, don't you think you had enough?" the Nong's voice was calm but steadfast.

They had said goodbye to the other two freshmen less than half an hour ago and Phu hadn't stopped chatting with both of them as they returned home. Mek realized how seriously those kids took their safety: he had never thought of making sure that all his friends had come home without problems and a glance towards Bohn made him understand that the other was also particularly amazed.

N’Ting bottom down his drink and slumped into his chair. Boss chuckled before somehow ending up in Mek's arms.

"Ai'Phu, don't be a damper!" the girl complained while Mek felt his head turn light at the sensation of Boss' body so close to his own.

N'Phu chuckled, attracting Tee's attention and his friend looked at him with his head slightly tilted to one side. "Ai'Ting you have your eyes closed." N’Phu said, quickly passing a hand over her eyes as if he wanted to prove it.

She somehow managed to intercept him and locked his arm in an awkward grasp. "Ai'Phu I'm tired, not drunk!" She meowed.

Boss chuckled at the girl's tone and almost slid to the floor. Mek quickly grabbed him, passing an arm around his waist and clutching him.

They had remained silent for most of the journey to the hospital. Ram had been slightly dizzy halfway, but despite King's insistence he hadn't wanted to stop.

Now, waiting to be received by the doctor, with Ram still holding his wrist, King could no longer wait. "Why did you bring me to know yours parents?"

Ram turned to King, a resolute expression frowning on his face.

King would have liked to move his gaze to the hand around his wrist but he knew that if he did, Ram would have let him go and he didn't want it. Ram's hand was large. And hot. "Did you introduce me to the... pack?" He tried.

"You are part of it." Ram pointed out without changing expression.

"And... what does this mean?" King felt his heart pounding too hard.

The grip on his wrist increased in intensity. Without hurting. Ram's voice was firm though soft, like a blanket in front of a fireplace.

"It means that you are my priority, that no one can presume could to hurt you, that I’ll always be there for you. That you are mine to protect and nurture and that I am yours, in the form you prefer."

King's eyes widened. It was the longest sentence Ram had ever said to him and... and it was terrifying. King was one of the pack. Did Ram promise the same to everyone else? And who are the others? And who was he among the others? And why did Ram want him?!

"But you never asked me if I agreed!"

Ram let his wrist go, almost as if he burned himself. King felt his arm go cold. Ram nodded slightly and looked straight ahead, away from King.

Bored, Tee looked away from N’Phu and ended up gazed Mek – and Boss. But he almost missed his friend's small smile when N’Phu named N’Ram.

"Ai'Ting tonight we don't have Ai’Ram taking us home." Said and Mek and Tee exchanged another puzzled look. Why would N’Ram bring them home? "We shouldn't get too drunk." N'Phu concluded by getting up and pulling Ting who had not yet let go of his arm.

"Me! Ai'Phu I'm not drunk!" she protested petulantly.

The Nong put her arm over his shoulders, ignoring her protests. "Phi, thank you for coming, but Ai'Ting, Tang and me really have to come back home."

Tee nodded with all the elegance that his hangover allowed him and Mek found himself smiling at the Nong, while Boss fell quietly asleep on his side.

“Ai’Phuuuu!!!” N’Ting went on with her feeble protest, but the freshman wasn't paying any attention to her.

"P'Bohn, can you take Duen home?"

Bohn roused himself abruptly from his daze. "What…?" the words came out low and hoarse, as if his throat was too dry.

Tee and Mek's eyes widened and Tee found himself running out of thoughts, as well as words. The Nong had come to challenge Bohn to stop him from being with Duen and now... now they left them together? Okay, it was N’Ram who challenged Bohn, but by the way the kids interacted, it was clear that Ram had had the full support of the others, and perhaps even Duen's.

"Thanks P'Bohn." N'Phu didn't seem to pay any attention to the confusion he had brought among his seniors, nor seemed to be interested in a possible – even if unthinkable – protests from Bohn: he had assigned him a task. And he expected that task to be done. He kicked his friend's chair and Tang let out an indignant grunt. "Tang, wake up, let's go home."

N’Tang rubbed his eyes, like a child torn from his sleep. "Shouldn't we wait for Ai’Ram?" he whimpered while trying to loosen his sore neck muscles.

N'Phu readjusted his grip on Ting before giving another blow to Tang's chair. "No, we have to bring Ai'Ting home safely. And then you'll sleep in a real bed."

"Ai'Phuuuu, why are you in charge?"

Here, Tee – and a quick glance made him realize that Mek and Bohn were on the same page – he was wondering the same thing: Phu wasn't a leader. He had no pulse. He was far too inclined to accept others' orders, Bohn in the first place, to be considered a ruling one. Still, now he was taking the reins so tightly that not even N’Ting was really protesting.

Phu snorted, evidently tired. "Because Ai’Ram is not there." And there was a kind of definitive sub text. "Come on Tang, stand up!"

Tang went to stand on the other side of Ting. He wasn't really supporting her, it was more like a battle formation, something they didn't even have to think about before molding.

N’Ting raised a hand, straightened her head and opened her eyes wide. "Goodnight Phi!" she shouted too loudly. Then her eyes slid across the table and her voice softened. “Look how cute Duen is! Already asleep!"

N’Phu dragged the two out but Tee could still hear them squabble.

"Phu, why can't I sleep here with Duen?"

"Tang, stop complaining. Soon you'll be asleep in your dorm bed."

Bohn turned to Tee, clutching Duen without waking him.

"What…?"

"N’Duen did well to rinse the wound with alcohol." Dr. Thara got Ram out of the bed and P'King immediately approached him. Ram didn't understand why P'King had wanted to went in with him, but he hadn't opposed him: despite the earlier words, his presence made him feel at ease.

"Fortunately you don't need stitches. Are you sure you don't want to file a complaint?" Ram shook his head and the doctor sighed, unsatisfied but helpless. "Okay, try to keep the wound as clean as possible. If you can, eat on the opposite side. I'd tell you to avoid talking too much, but I don't think it's necessary." Ram performed a half-grin that made the doctor smile. "Do you have someone to take you home tonight?"

Ram was about to shake his head when P'King said, "I'll take care of him."

Ram turned his head to P'King so quickly that the doctor almost worried. Then slowly he came back to face Dr. Thara. "I'm fine."

"Ram, I know that now you're okay, but sometimes a twinge of sudden pain may be enough to make you lose your balance or make a wave of nausea rise and make the situation worse. If your friend offers to accompany you, I ask you to let him do it."

Ram nodded. There wasn't much else he could do.

As they left the doctor's office P'King immediately went close to him. Ram walked slowly, he didn't try to keep his distance, but he didn't know if right now he wanted P'King so close to him.

"Cool Boy... I think I said something... wrong. Before." He said as soon as they got out of the hospital. The air was still, immobile, that night. And Ram felt like that air, even as he walked home.

He said nothing, but he didn't quicken his pace or move his gaze, looking ahead. He was listening to him. But he was doing it without being comfortable: King could have yet done him a lot more harm than that punch.

"I..." King took a deep breath, as if, for the first time, he wasn't sure if he was allowed to speak or not. As if there had never been a time when Ram hadn't listened to him. "I'm good with you. But what you told me, I don't understand it."

Ram stopped. He turned to look at him.

"I'm part of the pack, and in it there are your family, your dogs, your friends and me."

King didn't need encouragement to continue. As with the offer box, King knew that Ram wouldn't shut him up.

"Does that talk apply to all members of the pack?" Ram nodded. "You offer... what? An home? A family?" Ram raised an eyebrow, not understanding where he wanted to go. "Ok. This is not the part I don't get it. You said ' _I am yours, in the form you prefer_ '. I don't understand this. If… I don’t know… if I wanted a brother and you didn't feel like my brother, would you still act as such because I asked you? It's insane!"

"I chose you." King looked up at him. Ram felt hot. "And you entered in my pack." King's huge eyes looked at him as if it were something... wonderful and incomprehensible together. Ram looked down. That look was too intense. "I know I can trust you."


	9. 9. Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Oh, you're awake. I thought you were going to sleep more."_   
>  _Duen's jaw landed on the floor: Bohn was half naked, just out of the shower and still partially wet. Ram could still see the bruises on his body, but they were healing quickly, giving that vision a crumpled note that…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse me for the long absence. My rhythms are back to being more stressful than before quarantine, and I have less and less time. But slowly it will go on, I promised.
> 
> EDIT: I almost forgot! The first Boss/Mek scene is inspired - like A LOT - by the one of My Engineer - the series, ep. 9
> 
> Sooooo...  
> Enjoy the reading  
> ... hopefully

Mek threw Boss into his bed and the boy muttered a couple of meaningless words. Sleeping Boss was soft, much more soft than he was when awake. Mek bit his lip and reached out to that messy hair.

They were silky. Boss's skin warm and alive under his fingers. The middle and ring fingers slid down his cheek and Mek watched him shiver under his touch. The breath got stuck in his throat. The thoughts died out. The only thing that mattered was the vision of Boss asleep, curled up in his bed.

He took a breath, closed his eyes and turned, ready to leave.

But Boss had grabbed his sleeve.

Eyes half opened and an expression lost, far away, sweeter than any other he had ever seen him do.

"Stay. I love you. Stay. "

Just a whisper but enough to make a mountain falter. And Mek felt only a slight slope. Boss, however, was just drunk. He wasn't really talking to Mek, _was he?_

A small jerk. Just enough to move Mek's arm.

Mek stood still for a moment that seemed eternal, then sat on the bed. In his head he intended to free himself from the hold of the other, to tell him to go back to sleep and hide in the house for the next geological era.

But Boss's lips stretched into a delicate smile. His hand slipped to grab Mek's wrist and Mek no longer had the strength to move. Boss closed his eyes. And Mek capitulated.

Duen woke up confused. He had to stop drinking... undoubtedly he and alcohol didn't get along.

He looked around: it was not his home. For a moment he felt lost but then he recognized that room. He was at Bohn’s. How did he get there? Why was it there? What had happen-

"Oh, you're awake. I thought you were going to sleep more."

Duen's jaw landed on the floor: Bohn was half naked, just out of the shower and still partially wet. Ram could still see the bruises on his body, but they were healing quickly, giving that vision a crumpled note that…

Duen shook his head trying to shake off those inappropriate thoughts. When he looked back, the other had a smug smile and a satisfied air. He took some towels from the closet and threw a couple of them towards Duen, while with a third he started drying his hair.

"Go take a shower, you're still asleep."

"I'm not asleep... I don't understand what I'm doing here." And no, he hadn't sulked. Thank you very much.

“You fell asleep in the pub last night. It was late so I thought it better not to go to your house in the conditions you were in. " It made a lot of sense as an explanation, were it not for the small fact that the two of them had... quarrelled? Broken?

"Why you?"

Bohn let go the towel and leaned against the wall behind him, crossing his arms over his chest. A position that wanted to look relaxed, without too much success. "Your friends had to take care of N'Ting and N'Phu asked me to take you home."

Duen pursed his lips. Again, it made sense, but that meant Ram hadn't come back.

GOD, RAM! He hadn't gone to the pub to have fun but because Ram was streaming live with a broken lip! And... then he went to the hospital?

He looked around for his cell phone without finding it. "Where is my phone?"

As he passed the cell phone, Bohn didn’t seem happy about being put aside. But Duen had other things to think about: he almost tore the cell phone from his hands before opening the group conversation and asking if they were all well, then wrote directly to Ram to try to find out what the doctor had said.

Ai’Tang had just replied when Bohn got tired of being put aside.

"You could at least thank me." Duen looked up from his cell phone and found Bohn's pouting face. _Oh yes, that was really a pout!_ There was a reason he liked the boy so much, despite the heinous character. And these moments of tenderness in which he sought his attention as an abandoned puppy melted his heart.

Duen found himself smiling and reaching out to Bohn, waiting for the other to grab his.

"Thank you."

King was sitting at the usual table. His hands entwined in front of him, his gaze lost in emptiness. He didn't know how long he was there when Tee occupied the seat in front of his.

"What are you doing here?"

King blinked before focusing his gaze on his friend. “A project to be finished. You?"

Tee laid a hand on the book that had appeared between them. "I have to return this one and get another." King looked away nodding absently. But Tee seemed like he wanted to chat. "How did it go between you and N’Ram last night?"

King almost choked: on the air, probably. His eyes widened and "In what sense?" came out much thinner than he wanted.

"Well, the freshmen said you're part of their pack, whatever that means. And yesterday you left with the pack leader. How did it go?"

The feeling of the previous night had returned. And now he finally understood what it was: King was terrified.

"What does it mean... yes." He felt a boulder in his stomach, and his heart beat too hard in his chest. “Apparently it means that Cool Boy trusts me. And that he chose me. And that I accepted." He was out of air. He put a hand on his chest, trying to stop the heart that seemed to want to break through his chest. "But I don't know what he wants!" King put a hand over his mouth. His voice had gone too high, too desperate.

Tee said nothing for a while. "What do _you_ want?" he asked, without warning.

King found himself gasping. "Me?" He shook his head. "That's not the point."

Tee drummed his fingers on the book in front of him. "So what is it?"

"Ram. I thought he could barely stand me, and now he offers himself to me in any way I want, because he trusts me. Who would ever do such a thing?!" King wasn’t looking at his friend. He had his head in his hands, his hair untidy: Ram would have freaked him out. Completely crazy. To the point of doing something crazy like...

"Shouldn't he trust you?" Tee's voice brought him back to the conversation going on, making him jerk his head up. He felt almost offended by those words.

"He shouldn't trust anyone so easily!"

The attempt to divert the conversation failed miserably.

"But about you? Can you be trusted?" Tee put him with his back to the wall.

"What changes?"

"Everything." King watched him carefully. He didn't understand, but maybe Tee had the key he needed. “I understand your concern. If it were anyone else I would think like you, even if I think I missed something in your rambling. But we're talking about N’Ram." Tee chuckled, and King frowned. "If he really _'could barely stand you'_ you two would never have come this close." He explained. "And I know what I'm talking about, Ram is my Nong."

King took a deep breath. "What should I do?"

"Talk to him. And make him talk."

Easy to say. A little less to do.

_'We can meet?'_

_'I'm taking dogs out for a walk.'_

_'Where are you?'_

_'Sure?'_

_'Where are you?'_

_'Share position'_

Boss woke up in the dazzling light of his apartment. He sighed thinking back to the previous evening, Mek's arms around his waist, on the way home close enough to him that he could lost himself in his eyes. Upon home arrival. Had he really confessed to loving him? And Mek had stay?

And now what was he supposed to do? He sat up and looked around the room. Empty and silent.

Mek wasn’t with him. Maybe Mek hadn't stayed after all.

Had he ruined everything? He threw himself back into the pillows, puffing. He could blame the alcohol. Alcohol is always an excellent excuse.

Someone was cooking. The perfume went up to his room. His stomach decided to wake up and so, finding strength, he got up ready to try to get his breakfast.

He glanced at the alarm clock. He had overslept.

Grunting annoyed, he left the bedroom.

And he got stuck in the doorway.

Mek was there. And he was preparing food. For both. There were two dishes on the table. And two glasses with fresh water inside.

"Mek...?"

The boy spun around, surprised and frightened. Eyes like two headlights.

They watched each other until Boss slapped his own face.

"What are you doing?!" Mek ran to meet him, grabbing his wrist with one hand and lifting his face with the other to inspect his injured cheek.

"I'm not dreaming." Boss had his eyes unfocussed but open wide.

And Mek laughed, letting him go and returning to breakfast. "No, you're not sleeping."

Boss took a deep breath, taking courage. "So I don't risk waking up any minute and finding out you're not here?"

Mek remained silent long enough that Boss began to think of all the ways in which he could make that exchange into a joke.

But then Mek turned to him, the pan with scrambled eggs in one hand, a spatula in the other.

"No. I'm here."


	10. 10. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Somewhere, more or less behind them, a small group of girls let out a series of appreciative cries. King looked down and bit his lip slightly, to hide the little smile that that idea caused him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I was quiet quick this time.  
> Notes # 1: I remind you that the - beautiful - preparatory appointment between Mek and Boss never happened, nor was there the missed appointment at the park between Fon and Boss, obviously.  
> Notes # 2: I admit that I have difficulty writing about Duen and Bohn, because they have relationship goes on a rollercoaster... yet they always seem to be stuck in the same place. It is a relationship that - in my opinion - doesn’t progress, at least not until the last two episodes of the series. And try to keep it with a similar trend here too... I don't know how well I am doing.  
> I hope I haven't forgotten anything.
> 
> Hopefully…  
> Enjoy the reading.

P’Bohn was taking him home. They were actually going together to lunch and then home. Ai’Tang and Ai’Ting had both replied in the group chat, but neither of them knew what happened to Ram. At least social media seemed to have, in part, finally subsided. There were still those who post bad things, but it seemed limited to a couple of hot heads.

He sighed dejected: Ram was absolutely unable to let others take care of him... or to understand that it could be the centre of their concern. He was about to turn off his cell phone to pay all his attention to P'Bohn - who was already showing a delicious pout - when the cell phone blew a notification.

A photo, on the group chat: a close-up, incredibly in focus, of Ram's lips with the cut in the foreground. Duen enlarged the photo to check the state of the cut, but it looked like he was healing well.

He smiled and turned off his cell phone.

P’Bohn was livid

"Now he sends you pictures of his lips?" it came out of his teeth before he gnashed them to the point that they could be heard screeching against each other. The gaze fixed on the road. The knuckles as white as snow. The jaw pulled like never.

"P'Bohn, Ram and I don't have that kind of relationship."

"So why does he send you a picture of his lips?" there was an anger hidden in Bohn's voice that Duen could not understand: the memories of the previous evening were quite hazy, but he was sufficiently sure that P'Bohn had defended Ai’Ram, that he understood that...

"You're jealous! Oh my god, you're jealous!"

"I'm not jealous!" he answered too quickly.

Duen was in seventh heaven: P’Bhon was jealous of him and Ram. So... "Admit it and you and I will get back together."

The car quickly swerved to the left, stopping by the sidewalk.

"Are you serious?" but Duen only smiled at him. A big happy smile. A smile not to be kept waiting. "Ok, ok, yes. I'm jealous. I hate the way you two together makes me feel left out."

Duen unbuckled his belt and threw himself over his seat into Bohn's arms. And he held it tight.

"Phi... Ai’Ram is my best friend and he is the one who takes care of us. You are my boyfriend. You. Nobody else." Duen hid his blush against Bohn's chest and stayed there while P'Bohn laughed satisfied.

Ram's three dogs were chasing a boomerang, or something similar. In this hours, the park was full of people and King could see how Ram attracted the attention of many girls... and some boys. Ram, however, was completely absorbed by his dogs.

Or maybe he was waiting for him.

As King approached a little more, Ram called the dogs with a whistle and tied them on a leash. Then he turned to King, holding the dogs behind him.

Those animals were huge. At Ram's house, supported by the younger boy, they had seemed almost approachable but now...

King swallowed hard but took another step forward. Ram's expression seemed to tell him that it wasn’t necessary for him to come any closer, they could even speak from a distance. But King wanted him close. He didn’t want to scream, to be heard from all over the park.

Ram sat on the ground, and his three dogs, after a moment of uncertainty, sat on his right. The largest of the three had his head above Ram's bent knee. But the left side was completely free.

King tried to instil all his thanks in the drawn smile that he managed to show and, with uncertain steps, went to sit on Ram's left.

He took a breath and then, without pausing too much to think, he admitted "I don't know what I want from you." But the next moment he grabbed Ram’s left hand and squeezed it in his.

Somewhere, more or less behind them, a small group of girls let out a series of appreciative cries. King looked down and bit his lip slightly, to hide the little smile that that idea caused him.

Ram sought his gaze, and King knew it had been right to take his hand and now he had his full attention. "I don't know when I’ll know what I want from you."

Ram tighten his hand. King's gaze slid a moment on the split lip and then returned to look him in the eyes.

"I like what we have... we had... we were before."

At this Ram tilted his head and frowned just a little. "Before?" he asked, and King thought there was nothing more beautiful than the sound of Ram's voice.

"Before the pack... no, not before the pack, before I found out I had to decide about us and that you have no say!" that idea was absolutely unbearable. "Why can't you decide? Better yet, why can't we decide together? "

Out of the corner of his eye, King noticed that one of Ram's dogs was staring at him.

Ram's lips softened. Somehow he seemed almost smiling. "Are you telling me you want us to decide what to be together?" Ram's eyes seemed to shine.

"I..." somehow, not quite understanding how, King believed he had given the right answer. But then... "You said..." ' _I am yours, in the shape you prefer_ ’ " Are you telling me that we can choose it together the shape I prefer? "

Ram smiled. A true smile, one of those that is not far from making them a laugh. "Taking care of you is my privilege." King's hands were still tight around his left and Ram brought them to his chest, over his heart. "It's what I want to do, who I want to be."

King felt hot. The outside world, the screams of the girls, the chirping of birds, the hoarse breathing of the three dogs next to them, all vanished. Under his fingers only the throbbing of Ram's heart. A heart that beat fast.

King found himself babbling, lost in the other's eyes. "So... so now you're taking care of me?" Ram pursed his lips like _that_ and King snorted "... silly question, you're right."

Boss and Mek were clearing when Boss's cell phone rang.

"It's Fon." He said unlocking the screen.

Mek stopped with the dishes in hand and turned to Boss. His throat felt dry, but he had to ask "Ok. What she says?"

Boss smiled a little, then scratched his head. "She would like to continue seeing me, even if she has become an Idol."

Mek felt like he was under a cold shower. "And what do you want?" he struggled to keep his voice steady, and Boss didn't seem to notice his effort, too busy measuring the whole dormitory space with long strides.

"I like Fon." He asserted, without looking at Mek. "She is beautiful, kind, she has a beautiful voice." He turned abruptly towards Mek, who turned to face the sink and put down the dishes he still had in his hand. Boss's voice seemed too distant, overwhelmed by an hissing in his ears. "She was your co-star, you know better than I do."

"No, really, I don't know." Mek whispered closing his eyes, removing the tears that threatened to flood his face.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing." Mek swore silently against his own voice, too trembling. “So what are you going to do? Will you go to her?"

Boss threw himself on the sofa, kicking. "AAAAAAAAAAH! What do I have to do?" he looked up imploringly at Mek who in turn looked at him incredulously.

"Are you asking me?"

"Of course I ask you!" in an instant he was back on his feet, clinging to Mek's arm. "You're the good one with girls. I only make disasters."

Mek tried to free himself but the other’s grip didn’t seem to want to give up. “If you like her, ask her out. I don't see what this has to do with me."

At these words Boss left him. "Why shouldn't it have to do with you?" he had an absolutely lost look and Mek cursed every moment since they had gone to the pub to that morning. They couldn't go back to being the quiet hubby and the silly wife. He couldn't do it.

"Boss, if you are in love with her, you have to tell her it's okay, that you will be together despite everything, that you will always be with her and that you will be patient and understanding even when your heart breaks." _Just like I am with you now_. But these words were stuck in the throat, between a sob and the next. "Tell her you love her but stop pulling me in the middle!" he hated his own voice and how broken it sounded.

Boss laid a hand on his shoulder, followed immediately after by the other, so that he could look him in the face without Mek could run away.

And Mek didn't know how to read the look painted on Boss's face as he asked, in a voice that didn't seem to be much firmer "Mek... what are you talking about?"

"What?"

"You told me it wasn't a dream... but... do you want me to tell Fon that I love her?" Boss's eyes were round as wide as "Why?"

Mek shrugged freeing himself from Boss's grip "Because that's what you want." He said, trying to get to his bag and escape. His chest ached like never before.

"I…? Do I want to love Fon?" Boss grabbed Mek by the arm, trying to make him turn "But yesterday..."

Mek freed himself once more. "Yesterday you were drunk." He liquidated him by reaching the door.

"NOT so drunk!" Boss was screaming. Full lungs, as Mek had never heard him do. "Yesterday I told you I love you, I asked you to stay with me and you stayed, this morning you told me it wasn’t a dream... why do you want me to put me with FON now?!"

Time seemed to stand still.

And Mek's heart also seemed to stop. Just to start galloping a moment later, as if trying to jump out of the chest and cover the distance that separated them in an instant.

But Mek's mind was still trying to figure out where he misunderstood.

"But... you said you like her!"

"Yes, I like her and I don't want to break her heart! That's why I asked you what to do!" Boss ran a hand through his hair, swallowing a forced laugh. "You always have a lot of girls around you but you don't go out with anyone! How do you do?"

And Boss found Mek's arms tight around his waist, his lips pressed against his own. There, where they had to be.


End file.
